New Zealand Customs Service said the tax increases led to rampant tobacco black market is an alarmist

Official documents show that the major cases, time is not illegal cigarettes, the tobacco industry forecast the tax hike to cultivate the prophecy of the black market never seems to achieve. General Administration of Customs said in the past three years did not intercept a large number of illegal cigarettes. Despite industry assertions, to intensify tobacco control will allow illegal market growth. Since the Special Committee of Maori Affairs in 2010 to carry out the investigation, the industry has issued these warnings, such as tax increases and paperback policy,

During this time, about the illegal tobacco market in New Zealand, British American Tobacco released a commissioned report "out of Shadow. " "Herald," according to the Customs Information Act 2010 summary, intercepted by the amount of tobacco, including the illicit cultivation of local tobacco, that are likely to increase, because from the beginning with the year to raise taxes, "... However, despite the increase in excise duty , but that is not the case.


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Customs indeed intercepted 4.8 tons of raw tobacco market value estimated at 1 kg $ 500, and $ 2.6 million in unpaid taxes. With the 2010 tobacco area Motueka seized illegal tobacco in the past, in June, two men due to the illegal production of tobacco and was fined. Customs said the illicit trade of tobacco and cigarette "is usually confined to the intercepted exceeds the limit of one to two cigarettes - passengers arriving in New Zealand, to carry through the mail transport. There is evidence that the tour group or crew members of individual organizations to import duty-free quota or more products, then sell their products to local retailers, but these trade "is considered to be negligible. Through an ordinary phone number associated with different addresses in an organized manner the imported cigarettes - but this is irrelevant, cigarette intercepted from merchant seamen in excess of limits is also irrelevant.
In a report on the latest tax increase proposal, the Ministry of Finance said that the large-scale tobacco smuggling and local manufacturing are relatively low. Nicholas Booth, a spokesman for the British American Tobacco, said the illegal tobacco trade is a very real problem, "the government an annual loss of about $ 40 million in unpaid taxes. He said that the paperback will lead to an increase in illegal tobacco trade. But on Smoking and Health Action International, said the illegal trade in very small. Its competent Ben Youdan expressed the allegations of the industry's public relations strategy - this is the worst alarmist. Comments: The tax increases the legitimate tobacco products in the end whether the surge in illegal tobacco trade, which seems difficult to find conclusive evidence to prove the degree of correlation between the two, but the tobacco industry has always insisted that tax increases will allow the illegal market growth, because The tax hike will make legitimate price increase, which prompted some smokers to cheaper smuggled products. In fact, some research institutions in the United States, Canada, Germany and other countries have done research on this issue, the proportion will increase after the tax hike, untaxed cigarettes on the market, a result, many countries, tobacco taxes are cautious attitude. New Zealand's tobacco control, although gratifying, but the warning of the tobacco industry is also not an alarmist, policy makers can not be blind to intensify tobacco control, while ignoring the potential negative role.